NASA Climate Research Articles

NBS-SURF calibrations: Use in NASA stratosphere and climate programs

In 1976 a rocket measurement series was begun by NASA/GSFC to determine the variation of the solar ultraviolet spectrum between 140 and 350 nm. This is the spectral region which controls the oxygen photochemistry in the stratosphere and mesosphere. This wavelength region was identified in 1977 as an important spectral region to monitor at least once a year for climate studies by a World Meteorological Organization Panel of Experts for the Monitoring of Trace Gases in the Atmosphere. The measuring devices used for the rocket experiments are single Ebert grating monochromators which have been calibrated at the NBS/ SURF to achieve the best available calibration accuracies for this measurement program. Fair agreement is shown between the SURF absolute calibration and a Johns Hopkins University CTE relative calibration.